The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted October 20 to approve an amended resolution designed to ease applicant requirements for small businesses and nonprofits seeking aid after being negatively impacted by COVID-19.
The newly approved guidelines include removal of Payment Protection Program restrictions and a threshold of $150,000 to differentiate small and large businesses. Another restriction was removed to allow elected and appointed officials to be eligible with the exception of the Board of Commissioners and the review committee.
The deadline for use of funds was extended to December 31 for small businesses and March 31 of next year for nonprofits. The new resolution also amended working capital guidelines for nonprofits, removed some franchise restrictions, and adjusted restrictions for individuals who receive services from nonprofits.
Eligible small businesses and nonprofits are still encouraged to apply for assistance.
In other business, the board voted unanimously to accept a $26,532 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant. According to a staff report, the funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a license plate recognition system that will help the Henry County Police Department gather intelligence to aid in the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal activities.
The board also accepted a $5,000 Norfolk Southern Discretion grant that will be used to purchase supplies for the Henry County Fire Department to aid in decreasing response times, according to officials. That vote was also unanimous.
A $102,000 contract for engineering design services for the Racetrack Road/Iris Lake Road intersection improvement project was awarded to American Engineers, Inc. That cost will be shared equally by the SPLOST budgets of District I and District III. A traffic study will be conducted to determine whether a roundabout or a traffic signal is most suitable for that intersection.
Kimley-Horn & Associates was awarded the $274,500 contract for design services related to the widening of a portion of Fairview Road, which is an approved District V SPLOST project.
The commissioners took action to replace a major piece of equipment that has been used for nearly two decades for county road improvements. The board voted unanimously to approve the $379,198 purchase of a used 2019 Caterpillar asphalt paver from Yancey Bros., a McDonough retailer, utilizing available funds in the county transportation department’s capital equipment fund. The newer machine will replace a 2001 paver that county officials said has reached the end of its service life and is no longer economically feasible to keep in the fleet.
